Art trip : Zadkine museum, Paris

Artist ateliers are pretty much a part of the myth of Paris. A lot of them were located in the south of the city, around Montparnasse, and are now considered prime real estate for their unique cachet. Of course it wasn’t the case back then… These days I’m reading a book about Giacometti (Avec Giacometti, edited by Allia), and it pretty much brings to life these days of artists working day and night in these very modest spaces. With barely no heat and sometimes not that much light, this was surely not a comfortable sort of bohemia. We would probably think more about slums than fancy lofts if we would see them right now.

The Zadkine museum is a nice way to get a glimpse of this kind of ateliers. It has been renovated a few years ago, so it will look rather comfortable and charming, surely, but it still gives you an idea of what a sculptor’s workshop could have felt like. The garden in particular has this “hidden away” quality that is so typical of these neighbourhoods, where most good things are visible from the street.